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ktroutman@govexec.com

For the last two weeks, I've written about long, unfocused vacancy announcements, position descriptions that are out-of-date, and a success story of one creative, hard-working federal employee who skipped lunch and changed her career. Readers have responded with success stories of their own that everyone can learn from. Here's a sampling.

Show Some Interest

There are several ways to change your job without a posted vacancy announcement. The one described in my column, "Position description dilemma", was to develop a process improvement in your office. This reader suggested another approach:

Dear Kathryn:

I have a second approach: let your management know your interests, however remote these may be from your job.

In my case, I had long worked in foreign military sales in a Navy engineering command, and was wondering what I might do in a not-far-off retirement. The answer was to pursue my interest in military history. So I started publishing book reviews and have a few interviews placed for publication in the popular military history magazines, and in Navy professional journals. But instead of treating this as just an avocation, a hobby, of no relevance in an engineering organization, I simply shared copies of my work with management. In due time, I was identified as the appropriate person to take on a part-time position managing historical artifacts being lent to my command for its new headquarters. The part-time work thrilled me. Then the dream came true: a full-time position donating display artifacts to veterans and other memorial groups became available - and I was seen as the natural for it and immediately selected.

The moral to this job change is: for goodness sake, let people know what you are interested in, and they may find just the opportunity for you to do it.

Roderick S. Speer
SpeerRS@NAVSEA.NAVY.MIL

One Shining Moment

One reader's creative solution to the position description dilemma:

Ms. Troutman -

I agree that position descriptions, vacancy announcements, and performance standards usually are overwritten, out of touch, and have more to do with procedure than achieving the mission through merit.

For one golden year, I convinced my boss to accept a more fundamental, even philosophical, approach to my performance standards. As executive staff to the regional administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration in Alaska, I summed up my role in the universe with only 27 words:

"Support any component of the region in any way possible, formal or informal, that will contribute to the success of the component, the region, and the agency."

This works wonderfully for me because I have near complete freedom to work with any office on any effort. Some projects last an hour, others a year. It is very difficult to codify on paper because success is dependent on me as an individual - not as an FTE. My effectiveness is based on my integrity and not a particular mix of experience, education, and knowledge.

Each new boss, however, adds more detail, more qualifiers, more caution, and more fluff. I once again have three pages of performance expectations for a pass/fail system. But for one brief, shining moment, there once was a performance standard worthy of Camelot.

John W. Madden
FAA, Alaskan Region
Anchorage, Alaska

It Takes Two

This personnelist gives us a concise review of the "two-step" process in the use of position descriptions:

Hi, Kathy!

The position description, or PD, is a very basic but important document that not only tells the employee what the "official" job requirements/duties are, but also determines the pay grade of the position. No PD could ever cover every detail of what an employee is to do in their position. I fear such PDs would be like the announcements we see nowadays!

I, too, agree that a PD is only a starting point; however, getting a job or being promoted in the federal government is two step process.

First, we must not forget that a personnelist uses the resume as a means to determine "legal" qualifications, i.e., those required by OPM rules to be considered qualified for the job at hand. Therefore, it's extremely important that applicants/job seekers include what's in the current PD. No applicant has ever been referred to a selecting official for consideration without first satisfying the personnel office as to qualifications.

Second, the manager/selecting official must make a decision on who is to fill his/her vacancy. They have a number of tools at their disposal to make such a decision. They can conduct interviews or merely review resumes. I believe selecting officials are interested in hiring someone who can perform the basic duties (i.e., KSAs) of the PD, but I also believe they look at qualities such as self-initiative, creativity and innovation.

These qualities should also be included in a resume, but not for qualficiation determinations made by a personnelist. Such qualities mean very little to a personnelist who is tasked with ensuring only legally (i.e,. OPM) qualified employees are referred to the selecting official.

Blaine Jackson

Managerial Core Competencies - This week I'm teaching managerial core competencies to HCFA employees in Denver and Seattle. I'll be writing about core competencies very soon. If you work for an agency that emphasizes core competencies at work, in position descriptions, evaluations, applications or interviews, drop me a line.

SES Workshop - Because of popular demand, I'm teaching another SES Writing Workshop is set up at Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington and open to anyone. July 12, 2000, 9-3:30; $225. Call Sue Tillotson, career coordinator (202) 205-9401 to register.

BIG Announcement - Consider the Blacks in Government Conference, "World Class Performance Through Partnerships for Progress," Washington, August 21-25, 2000. Details on the conference are online at: http://www.try-visions.com/big.html. I'll be there teaching federal resume writing again for the fifth year!

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